Plan to cut off the nine states

Zhou Yuanbin shouldered the heavy responsibility of consolidating the friendship that had been established for many years between the Shen family and the He Rong tribe. He thought it would be an easy task. Although there had been "misunderstandings" between the two sides, the He Rong cavalry once intended to attack Jinyang, but Zhou Yuanbin arrived After that, the problem was solved quickly.

Zhou Yuanbin knew almost all the He Rongbu adults and was very close relatives with some of them. Some of his childhood playmates are now in high positions and still regard him as one of his own.

Needless to say, there are many married daughters from the Shen and Zhou families, and even more from the Zhou family, and they are all willing to support the "maternal family".

Zhou Yuanbin was full of confidence, but several recent events made him suspicious.

"I originally thought that He Rong's troops would go directly to Yuyang, then go to Yecheng, capture the entire Jizhou in one fell swoop, and then advance together with the Bingzhou army. However, since entering the fortress, Shanyu has been reluctant to launch an offensive. It has been stopped here for two days. ! Also, when Shanyu went to see the emperor, I thought that he would be kidnapped. After all, there were not many troops left in Yecheng, but Shanyu only brought back a child and invited the emperor to come to meet him tomorrow. "

The more Zhou Yuanbin thought about it, the more wrong he became. He always felt that behind Shan Yu's toughness, there seemed to be a hidden intention to reconcile with Tian Cheng.

If you want to know Shanyu's true thoughts, of course you have to ask his pillow person.

Zhou Yuanbin asked Qimei, and the answer he received was that there was no need to worry. Shan Yuxu and Wei Snake would eventually completely wipe out the Tiancheng royal family and only form an alliance with the Bingzhou family.

Zhou Yuanbin felt relieved a little. After sleeping for a night, he felt uneasy again. This time he found the maid next to Qimei - the maid was also a maid of the Zhou family. His parents were still in Jinyang. He had to rely on Zhou Yuanbin to exchange letters and gifts. , so I am very grateful to him.

It was this maid who revealed that she had not heard the rumors herself, but had heard from other He Rong slave girls that the eldest wife had told Shan Yu about the benefits of the Tiancheng court.

"Why did she do this? She is obviously a member of the Zhou family and a Shen family. The alliance between He Rong and Bingzhou has only benefits for her and no harm. Is there such a person in the world? With her elbows turned outward, she does not help her parents' family, but Secretly seeking refuge with unrelated people? I just can’t figure it out.”

Xu Chu has been listening quietly, occasionally nodding his head or humming.

Zhou Yuanbin was silent for a while, then continued: "Then I remembered Mr. Xu's words, how did the old Shan die? I have thought about this problem before. I always thought that it was someone who coveted Shan Yu's position. Strong Arm The Chanyu had no clear evidence and was unwilling to split the tribe, so he let this person go. After thinking about it more carefully, he suddenly realized that two parties benefited most from the death of the old Chanyu, and one was the strong-armed Chanyu. Needless to say, this was the case. , and the other was the Tiancheng court in Yecheng, which used it to easily get rid of the He Rong cavalry that penetrated into Jizhou. It should have been a big crisis, but it turned out to be invisible. "

Xu Chu still nodded.

Zhou Yuanbin said: "I've stopped thinking about it here. I've said so much. It's time for Mr. Xu to reveal a little more. What do you know?"

Xu Chu smiled slightly and said, "Sorry, I can't tell you."

Zhou Yuanbin was displeased, "Does Mr. Xu look down on me? Or does he think that I only extend your life for three days? You can't blame me. Although Pingshan is very familiar with me, he is quite arrogant. Everyone except Shanyu has to let him Three points, it is a huge favor for him to give me this face, and it is definitely not for those animals. "

"Zhou Canjun misunderstood. I'm worried about your safety, so there are some things I can't say to you."

"Why, are you afraid that I will be assassinated?" Zhou Yuanbin laughed, "The worst result is that Shanyu decides to form an alliance with the Tiancheng court. In that case, he will not kill me. At most, he will force me to accept the fact."

Xu Chu shook his head.

"Master Xu is not hinting at Qimei, is he? She is even less capable. If I die here, even if she is not the one who killed me, she will not be able to explain to Jinyang's family. It is absolutely impossible."

Seeing that Xu Chu still didn't speak, Zhou Yuanbin became more and more dissatisfied, "Mr. Xu, when you are not allowed to speak, you insist on speaking. When I ask you to speak, you cherish your words like gold. There are so many people in the camp, relatives, I don’t even have friends, I’m here to discuss it with you..."

"I'm worried about King Jin."

"Huh?" Zhou Yuanbin was stunned, "What's the matter with King Jin?"

"I won't say much for now. Let me give Zhou Canjun two reminders."

"Please tell me, Mr. Xu's reminders are worth a thousand pieces of gold."

"Hey, it's not that expensive. The first step is to explain to Shan Yu's wife why you rescued me from He Rong Pingshan. Don't make her suspicious."

"I've already thought of this, so I'm going to use the letter from Prince Jin as a excuse. What about the second one?"

"Second, arrange for me to meet Prince Jin immediately so that we can talk face to face to save a lot of trouble."

"Mr. Xu, I'm confused. Prince Jin hasn't arrived yet. Even though I'm a god, I can't arrange for you to meet immediately."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "When Zhou joins the army, just be a god for once."

Zhou Yuanbin looked dissatisfied, but after a while, the coldness on his face gradually softened and turned into doubt, "Mr. Xu... what did you hear?"

"Zhou Junjun is wasting his time. Although you have extended my life for three days, it will not take three days for Chanyu to decide who to form an alliance with. The emperor will visit tomorrow and there will be results. Unless I see the King of Jin himself immediately, I will do nothing. revealed to you."

Zhou Yuanbin became more and more confused, and after a while he said: "Sit here for a while - I didn't say that King Jin is here, but I have to inquire, maybe..."

Zhou Yuanbin left and came back soon, "Master Xu, please come with me to meet someone. He may be able to make Master Xu speak."

"Okay." Xu Chu did not ask any more questions and stood up to follow Zhou Yuanbin out of the tent.

The two walked two or three miles, and people often came to check. When they saw Zhou Yuanbin, they immediately let them go.

Zhou Yuanbin pointed to a tent not far away, "That is the residence of Youqing Hou He Rong Bashan. He wants to see you."

"Bashan, Pingshan... Are they brothers, or do the adults of He Rong's tribe have such names?"

"Mr. Xu, please take care of yourself first." Zhou Yuanbin pushed gently and watched Xu Chu walk over. He did not follow.

The lights were on in the tent, and a man was sitting on a blanket waiting for guests.

After Xu Chu came in, he took a closer look and smiled, "Did the eldest brother change his name?"

That was not the Youqing Hou of He Rong's tribe, but the real Shen family counselor Liu Youzhong.

Even when they were in the same capital, the two did not call each other brothers for a while. When Xu Chu called "eldest brother", Liu Youzhong immediately changed to "fourth brother" without feeling awkward at all.

Liu Youzhong smiled and said, "This happened suddenly, so I had to use this method to meet with my fourth brother. Please sit down, fourth brother."

Xu Chu refused to sit down.

Liu Youzhong said again: "The King of Jin is really not in the camp. He was delayed by some things in Bingzhou and is still on his way."

Xu Chu then went forward and sat opposite, "How long have you been here, brother?"

"When He Rong entered the pass, I happened to come and join them, a few days earlier than my fourth brother."

"Brother, your reputation is known all over the world, so you don't want the Chanyu to know?"

"Hehe, I did use a fake name, because I wanted to secretly observe the movements of He Rong. To be honest, the King of Jin has long suspected that the new Chanyu may not be sincere in forming an alliance with Bingzhou. By the way, how did my fourth brother see Zhou Yuanbin's flaws? He didn't figure it out, and neither did I."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "If I tell the truth, brother, don't tell General Zhou."

"Of course, this is a secret talk between us brothers."

"General Zhou is not that smart."

Liu Youzhong was slightly stunned, and then laughed, "It's my fault. I taught Zhou Yuanbin too many words, but forgot that there are many things he can't think of."

The two chatted for a while, Liu Youzhong was not in a hurry, and Xu Chu was even less anxious.

Speaking of the situation in Bingzhou, Liu Youzhong was quite proud. "All the counties in Bingzhou have pledged loyalty to the King of Jin, and the whole country is united. Most of the counties in Qinzhou have also surrendered. The Jizhou army is desperate and has decided to join the Jin army. Only the Jiangshi army is still a problem, but they will not be able to hold out in Xijing for long, and will definitely surrender before autumn. Bingzhou has stationed troops and stored food, and will soon be able to go south to pacify the states."

Xu Chu listened intermittently, and it didn't matter whether he believed it or not.

Finally, it was Liu Youzhong who spoke up: "There are some things that cannot be said to Zhou Yuanbin. Are you willing to tell me?"

"Seeing my eldest brother is like seeing my third brother in person. Of course, I will not hide anything."

Liu Youzhong was very happy. "Brothers should be honest with each other. I will not hide anything from my fourth brother."

"But I only tell the facts. Don't ask me how I know. The death of the old Chanyu was arranged by Princess Huanyan, and the person who did it was the current Chanyu's wife."

"The Chanyu's wife is a member of the Shen family. Why would she help outsiders?"

"Because there are more than one Shen family members who married He Rong. The King of Jin secretly supports others to fight for the position of Chanyu, but Yecheng is willing to help He Rong to strengthen his arms - my eldest brother should know the reason better than me." Xu Chu actually knew very little, but when he spoke out, he seemed to know everything.

Although Liu Youzhong is an old man, he was also deceived at this time. He laughed and said, "At that time, I really didn't expect He Rong Qiangbi to win the position of Chanyu. A few years ago, it was Shen Mushou who was optimistic about the Right Xian Wang He Ronghua and even married his own daughter to him. When the old Chanyu just died, He Ronghua was indeed the most likely to succeed, but he encountered as much opposition as support. It was also He Ronghua's carelessness that gave He Rong Qiangbi an opportunity to take advantage of."

"He Ronghua was the one who was killed by He Rong Qiangbi alone?"

"Otherwise, he was careless, but Qiangbi was not alone. He bribed the guards around He Ronghua in advance. When he took action, the guards not only did not stop him, but also stopped others. Qiangbi therefore had the opportunity to take action and also had the opportunity to appease He Ronghua's subordinates."

"So that's it. King Jin never doubted Qiangbi. 's wife?"

"She is a member of the Shen family, but her last name is Zhou. The King of Jin doesn't know much about her. He only saw that He Rong Qiangbi stood out, so he thought he succeeded to the throne by his own ability, so he concentrated on making friends with him. If the fourth brother didn't know, he would think so, right?"

"Well, even if no one helps, He Rong Qiangbi can be called a rare hero."

"Now that I think about it, if the lady helps, the real hero will be buried. Qiangbi Chanyu is like this, and so is the King of Jin. Like you and me, we are all people who help others. Are you willing to help the King of Jin with me?"

Xu Chu shook his head gently, "I just want to cancel the marriage between Princess Fangde and He Rongbu, no matter who it benefits or harms."

Since they met, Liu Youzhong showed doubts on his face for the first time, "The person I Liu Youzhong can't see through, the fourth brother is the first one."